[Speaker: Prof. Georgios T. Halkias] More than Prayer: Envisioning the Pure Lands in Tibetan Contexts 超越祈禱：藏傳佛教語境中的淨土觀想 [講者：賀祺雅教授] – Inaugural Lecture by the Glorious Sun Professor in Buddhist Studies 旭日基金教授（佛學研究）就職講座

Speaker 講者

Glorious Sun Professor in Buddhist Studies & Director of the Centre of Buddhist Studies of The University of Hong Kong 香港大學旭日基金教授（佛學研究）、香港大學佛學研究中心總監

 

 

Time 時間：1 May 2026 • 3:00 – 5:00 pm   2026年5月1日 | 下午3:00-5:00

Venue 地點：Rayson Huang Theatre, The University of Hong Kong 香港大學黃麗松講堂

Details 詳情 – https://www.buddhism.hku.hk/event-post/Glorious-Sun-Professor-Lecture-2026/

Registration 報名 – https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_regform.aspx?guest=Y&UEID=106210

 

Descriptions of paradise-like realms for the deceased are not unique to Buddhism. Many cultures, including those of the Near East, Greece and Persia imagined after-life destinations as celestial heavens. In this lecture, I will survey how these universal aspirations found philosophical expression in Mahāyāna in the notion of the “buddha-field” (buddhakṣetra). Focusing specifically on Sukhāvatī, the pure land of Buddha Amitābha, I will trace Amitābha’s origins from Greater Gandhāra, the cosmopolitan centre of the Kuṣāṇa Empire, to Tibet. While often dismissed as a form of devotionalism, Tibetan pure land literature encompasses an intricate body of practices including aspiration prayers, tantric rituals, and advanced contemplative techniques. Despite a millennium of sustained literary production, no sectarian Pure Land movement ever arose in Tibet. Instead, these aspirations pervaded every major school while belonging exclusively to none–­a phenomenon reflecting the doctrinal inclusivism characteristic of Tibetan Buddhism.

對逝者往生樂土境界的描述並非佛教所獨有。包括近東、希臘與波斯等多種文化，皆把來世想像為天界樂土。是次講座將探討這種普世的嚮往，如何在大乘佛教的「佛土」思想中得到哲學性的闡釋。講者將特別聚焦於阿彌陀佛的淨土「極樂世界」，追溯阿彌陀佛信仰從貴霜帝國多元文化中心大犍陀羅地區傳播至藏地的歷程。藏傳淨土文獻雖常被簡單歸為虔信主義，實則涵蓋了極為複雜且精微的修行體系，包括發願祈禱、密續儀軌與高階禪修法門。儘管藏地已有持續長達千年的文學創作歷史，卻從未出現過任何宗派性的淨土運動。相反，淨土理念遍及各大教派，卻不專屬任何一派。這現象正體現了藏傳佛教教義相容並蓄的特質。

 

Georgios T. Halkias is the Glorious Sun Professor in Buddhist Studies and Director of the Centre of Buddhist Studies at the University of Hong Kong. His scholarship, informed by a DPhil from the University of Oxford and postdoctoral research at the British Academy, the Warburg Institute, and the Käte Hamburger Kolleg, covers Tibetology, Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, and the historical dialogue between Hellenism and Buddhist thought. A leading authority on Pure Land literature and Himalayan history, Professor Halkias has focused on tracing the transmissions of Buddhist practice across Greater Gandhāra, the Himalayas, and Tibet. He serves as the co-Editor-in-Chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Buddhism and is the author of numerous articles, Luminous Bliss: A Religious History of Pure Land Literature in Tibet, and co-author of The Copper-Coloured Mountain. 

Georgios T. Halkias（賀祺雅）現任香港大學旭日基金教授（佛學研究）及香港大學佛學研究中心總監。教授擁有牛津大學博士學位，並曾於英國國家學術院、瓦爾堡研究所及波鴻魯爾大學凱特．漢堡研究所從事博士後研究，其研究涵蓋藏學、印藏佛教，以及希臘文明與佛教思想的歷史對話。賀祺雅教授是淨土文獻與喜馬拉雅歷史領域的權威學者，其研究專注於追溯佛教修行在大犍陀羅、喜馬拉雅地區與西藏的傳播。教授同時擔任《牛津佛教百科全書》的聯合主編，並著有大量學術論文、專書《光明極樂：藏傳淨土文獻的宗教史》，以及合著《銅色山》一書。

 

Free admission | All are welcome | First come first served

免費入場 • 歡迎各界人士參與 • 座位有限 先到先得

 

Enquiry 查詢  hkucbs@hku.hk  |  www.buddhism.hku.hk

 

 

Centre of Buddhist Studies, The University of Hong Kong 香港大學佛學研究中心

 

GS Charity Foundation 旭日慈善基金